Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a delay in naming a school in an Education Health and Care Plan because Mrs X appealed to the Tribunal. There are no good reasons why we should investigate her complaint about possible missed provision as this has been known to her for more than 12 months before she complained to us.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council delayed in naming a school in an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). And failed to provide support set out in an EHC Plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Coucnil’sreplies to her.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X is D’s mother. D has an EHC Plan. Before D started at senior school, the Council says it amended D’s EHC Plan and issued a new one before the Regulation time limit of mid February 2023. It says it did not name a specific school but instead said a ‘mainstream school’.
7. Mrs X says in early July 2023 the Council agreed to name School Y a week before a Tribunal hearing. Mrs X complained to the Council and received its stage two reply in July 2024.
8. We cannot investigate why the Council did not name School Y in the February 2023 EHC Plan and any delay in naming it, because Mrs X appealed to the Tribunal.
9. Mrs X says the Council failed to ensure D received the support set out in D’s EHC Plan in the school year 2022 to 2023. Mrs X did not complain to the Council about this until she started at School Y. These events have been known to Mrs X for more than 12 months before she complained to us. There are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot investigate events and issues connected to a Tribunal appeal. And there are no good reasons we should investigate an allegation of lack of provision as it is more than 12 months old.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman